Bersch: Broncos set themselves up nicely with win over Raiders

Dec. 7, 2012

The Denver Broncos made winning look easy Thursday night, but it wasn’t.

After beating Tampa Bay at home Sunday afternoon, the Broncos turned around and beat the rival Oakland Raiders on the road.

In winning twice in five days, the Broncos set themselves up nicely for the rest of the season. They will sit and watch games this weekend as the second seed in the AFC.

The Broncos also now will have a nice little break before they play one of the biggest games of the season. Denver plays Dec. 16 at Baltimore, easily the toughest test since its first five games of the season that included losses to Atlanta (11-1), Houston (11-1) and New England (9-3).

That half-game lead over the Patriots and Ravens could be gone this weekend. Baltimore plays at Washington, while New England hosts Houston on Monday night. If either wins, they’ll jump back ahead of the Broncos for the No. 2.

Fans of the Broncos should cheer hard for the Redskins and Texans this weekend. It could go a long way in determining just how far the Broncos go this season.

Somewhere along the way, the Broncos need the Patriots to slip up. New England’s win over Denver in October gives it the all-important tiebreaker. The Broncos can take care of the tiebreaker with the Ravens simply by winning next week.

It’s all but a given the Texans will be the top seed in the AFC. The path to the Super Bowl in the AFC will go through Houston, whose only loss was a thrashing at home to Green Bay.

There’s no doubt the Broncos would love another shot at Houston, which came into Denver in Week 3 and won 31-25. The Broncos fell behind early that day and had to play catch up. They nearly did.

It’s a different Broncos team now than it was then. That was only the third game Peyton Manning played for Denver. He was good, but he’s far better now.

The Broncos have won eight games in a row since losing to the Patriots. They’ve done it with offense. They’ve done it with defense. They’ve done it with special teams.

Denver clearly has put itself in position to be a realistic Super Bowl contender. Getting the second seed in the AFC could make it happen.

A bye in the first round would mean winning once at home and then likely winning at Houston. That’s a far easier path than the alternative. There’s something about going to Baltimore or New England in January that scares me as a Broncos fan.

I like the Broncos’ chances to make the Super Bowl. The way they are playing of late, I would take them against any team in the league.

Denver finishes the season with home games against Cleveland and Kansas City. Those should be wins.

That makes the game against the Ravens all that more important. It’s been talked about since October and the next stumbling point for the Broncos.

If somehow they can win where they’ve struggled in the past, it just might to a super season for the Broncos.